Editorial: IMPACT on our lives

Long before the scowling bronze busts of Roman emperors or even the warrior-immortalizing scenes on ancient Greek pottery, mankind's earliest artistic hands shaped stone in honor of more feminine forces. Ancient goddess figurines stood as symbols of our ancestors' high reverence for all things motherly. Creation, fertility, warmth and growth, the Earth itself - biology has branded all that is vital and life-giving as inherently feminine.

So it's logical that those earliest bands of humans, so fragile and desperate to be sustained, would pay artistic honors to the women among them. Even the strongest father was powerless when it came to seeing that the tiniest, tender newborn was nourished. Women: We literally couldn't have lived without them.

Well in that same spirit of supreme reverence, we would carve a towering monument, if we could, to honor the women of IMPACT 100 who have been giving life and vitality to the Pensacola Bay Area since 2004.

As reported by the PNJ's Will Isern: Eight nonprofit organizations from five categories were selected to receive grants in the amount of $104,500 each.This year's recipients were:

? The Santa Rosa Historical Society for its plan to restore the Imogene Theatre which was badly damaged by fire in 2009.

? FavorHouse of Northwest Florida which provides assistance to victims of sexual abuse, to renovate one of its women's facilities and construct a kennel for victims' pets.

? Gulf Coast Kid's House will use the money to add an 850-square-foot expansion to house a private medical evaluation room.

? Independence for the Blind of West Florida was chosen for its proposal to purchase blind-assistance technology.

? The Pensacola Museum of Art will renovate its building in downtown Pensacola.

? The Humane Society of Pensacola will establish a spay and neuter clinic.

? Council on Aging of West Florida will install handrails for the walking track at the council's Adult Day Health Care Center and to purchase vehicles to provide transportation to senior citizens.

? Pensacola Habitat for Humanity will use the grant money to purchase construction equipment and vehicles.

Each of IMPACT's women contributes $1,000 a year, with 100 percent of the proceeds awarded to nonprofits. The Pensacola chapter's total amount awarded since its founding is now more than $5 million.

Starting with 233 members almost 10 years ago, the group has grown to 836 members this year which makes it the largest IMPACT 100 chapter in the world. Let's repeat that: THE LARGEST IMPACT 100 CHAPTER IN THE WORLD.

In a town that's so often caught grappling with notions of its own limitations and realizing its full potential, IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area is a roaring titan of philanthropy, either unaware or brazenly unconcerned by the fact that we're a mid-sized town in one of the poorest areas of the state.

President Holly Jurnovoy says "Our goal at some point is to have 1,000 women to be able to give away $1 million in one year. I think it's within reach at this point."

Absolutely, it's in reach. At 836 members this year, that's only 164 area women needed to hit that goal. We can do that. Readers, let's make next year IMPACT's year of 1,000 women. Go to http://impact100pensacola.org or call (888) 992-5646 and join.

In many pockets of modern society, we're not so far removed from those huddled, struggling bands of our earliest ancestors. With the sickness, hunger and poverty that our non-profit workers witness on a personal level every day, we are still very much a fragile community of humans. The women of IMPACT 100 protect us, nourish us, help us grow. They are a lifesource and we could all use more women like them looking after us - 164 more women, to be exact.

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News Journal Editorial Board

• Terry Horne, President and Publisher

• Kim Thomas, Deputy Managing Editor/Interim Executive Editor

• Tom Ninestine, Opinion Editor

• Andy Marlette, Editorial Cartoonist

• J. Earle Bowden, Editor Emeritus

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Editorial: IMPACT on our lives

Long before the scowling bronze busts of Roman emperors or even the warrior-immortalizing scenes on ancient Greek pottery, mankind's earliest artistic hands shaped stone in honor of more feminine